Harassment from debt collector

ValHaller

Well, it is one of 2 things

• A scam, whereby the scammers are trying to defraud the tenant out of rent paymnets
• A hamfisted attempt at dealing with a repo

If there is a repo in progress, tenants have rights (ask on the housing forum), but they only have those rights if they avail themselves of the opportunity. So letters addressed to the tenant or the occupier should always be accepted as better sent than not and no one should feel affronted to receive such a letter.

Mother should not pay rent to anyone different until she has evidence of a court order. As a matter of courtesy she would do better to provide her name than not and to ensure her rights are respected she should at least advise on the Letting Agent and the length of the tenancy.

Assuming that the letter is genuine - and it probably is - there is no basis to be angered at the suggestion that she contacts a solicitor, this is part of protecting her rights.

If a repossession is in progress, there is a conflict between the lender's rights and the tenant's rights. Your mother should engage with what is happening rather than you becoming incensed at the lender's representatives. The person to get incensed at is the Landlord who is not meeting his obligations to his lender and as a consequence may not meet his obligations to your mother.

larry09

Just a quick update on this matter. My mum contacted the estate agent that she rents with, and sent over a copy of the letter she recieved to the manager.

The manager has got back to her and has told her not to worry and that everything is sorted now. Apparently the landlord missed a payment on his mortgage but has been intouch with the bank, and it is all sorted.

Now, this sounds all well and good to me. However, would this situation really occur if the landlord had just missed one payment on his mortgage? Would it be sent to a debt collection agency?

What are peoples thoughts? This doesnt really sound right to me, but I am not clued up on these issues, so I could be wrong.

spacey2012

My thoughts are you have no contract with them.
Put it in the Bin

Jinx

I think Id be looking for a new rental - this one doesn't sound too secure!

FireWyrm

larry09 wrote: »

Just a quick update on this matter. My mum contacted the estate agent that she rents with, and sent over a copy of the letter she recieved to the manager.

The manager has got back to her and has told her not to worry and that everything is sorted now.

Rollocks. This rental is as sound as a house of cards. Ignore the agent, they do as they are told by the landlord regardless of the truth. You do have a right to request proof of this directly from the landlord. You have the right to his/her full name and address and you should write to them explaining this situation and asking for clarification. You require a letter stating that this situation has been handled and that your rental contract is secure along with a notice of deposit protection. You want the name of the DPS (deposit protection service) and you want to check it is actually there....Meanwhile, your mum starts looking elsewhere.

larry09 wrote: »

Apparently the landlord missed a payment on his mortgage but has been intouch with the bank, and it is all sorted.

Yeah right.

larry09 wrote: »

Now, this sounds all well and good to me. However, would this situation really occur if the landlord had just missed one payment on his mortgage? Would it be sent to a debt collection agency?

No. It would be several months and he would have had umpteen correspondences about it. The fact that they sent a debt collector to the house speaks volumes...he's ignoring their correspondence at his primary address and they cant pin him down.

larry09 wrote: »

What are peoples thoughts? This doesnt really sound right to me, but I am not clued up on these issues, so I could be wrong.

Its not right.

However, as a tenant, your mother has rights. One of those is to quiet enjoyment of the property so she does not have to let anyone in she doesnt want to. If the house is reposessed, then the bank becomes her landlord by default and she cannot be evicted arbitrarily. She must be served with a section 21 notice of intent to begin eviction proceedings....which means essentially that they would like their asset back please. All of this takes months, so dont worry, it's not imminent. However, she should pay attention to any correspondence through her door addressed to the LL and if she is called to court, she should attend, with appropriate representation or advice in hand. Go over to the Housing board and post a specific question on this subject to do with tenants rights in a repo situation. There are many over there with years of experience in the field and will guide you further.

Assume your mother is in such a situation until you have confirmed categorically otherwise. Dont just stick your head in the sand and pretend it isnt happening because it likely is.

fatbelly

larry09 wrote: »

The manager has got back to her and has told her not to worry and that everything is sorted now. Apparently the landlord missed a payment on his mortgage but has been intouch with the bank, and it is all sorted.

Now, this sounds all well and good to me. However, would this situation really occur if the landlord had just missed one payment on his mortgage?

No, it would take maybe half a dozen missed payments.

Unless there was already a suspended possession order in place due to a previous court hearing for mortgage arrears. One missed payment then means the order is defaulted and possession can pass to the lender.

Shelter have more info here

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repossession/repossession_by_a_landlords_lender

and they may be able to advise you on how you can get accurate information about what is going on.

ValHaller

spacey2012 wrote: »

My thoughts are you have no contract with them.
Put it in the Bin

On this one, you are quite mistaken. The debt collectors' argument is not with OP's mother, it is with the Landlord. Your advice will lead to tenants losing their rights

If the landlord does not have consent to let, a repo can be granted which puts the tenant out on the street regardless of the term of the AST. But the tenant does have right of audience at the repo hearing and can gain a 2 month stay on the repo.

For this reason any tenant in this position should read and take note of anything put through the door addressed to 'the tenant' or 'the occupier'.

This is not really a debt problem, it is on the wrong forum - it is actually a housing problem. OP's mother does not have debts - she does have a potential repo hanging over her. The correct forum is the Housing forum http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16